1954 Open Championship: Peter Thomson wins at Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Peter Thomson won the 1954 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England with 283, by 1 stroke over Bobby Locke and Dai Rees and Syd Scott.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1954 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 7 July 1954 to 9 July 1954
- Course
- Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England
- Edition
- 83rd Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 97
- Made the cut
- 50
- Purse
- £3,500
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Peter Thomson · age 24 · Australia · born Brunswick (Melbourne), Australia
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 72-71-69-71 = 283 · won by 1 stroke
- Runners-up
- Bobby Locke (284), Dai Rees (284), Syd Scott (284)
- 54-hole leaders
- Peter Thomson, Dai Rees, Syd Scott (212)
- Deciding hole
- No. 16, round 4
- Low amateur
- Peter Toogood (291)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Thomson | 72 | 71 | 69 | 71 | 283 |
| T2 | Dai Rees | 72 | 71 | 69 | 72 | 284 |
| T2 | Bobby Locke | 74 | 71 | 69 | 70 | 284 |
| T2 | Syd Scott | 76 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 284 |
| T5 | Jimmy Adams | 73 | 75 | 69 | 69 | 286 |
| T5 | Jim Turnesa | 72 | 72 | 71 | 71 | 286 |
| T5 | Antonio Cerda | 71 | 71 | 73 | 71 | 286 |
| T8 | Peter Alliss | 72 | 74 | 71 | 70 | 287 |
| T8 | Sam King | 69 | 74 | 74 | 70 | 287 |
| T10 | Flory Van Donck | 77 | 71 | 70 | 71 | 289 |
| T10 | Jimmy Demaret | 73 | 71 | 74 | 71 | 289 |
What happened at the 1954 Open Championship
At the 16th Thomson played from a steep bunker 25 yards from the flag with feet together and eyes closed and left it inches away - 'That won it for me, no doubt.'
Thomson bogeyed the 72nd from a greenside bunker, but Locke needed a birdie at the last to force a playoff and made par, while Rees also missed on the 72nd.
From the steep slope of a bunker 25 yards from the flag at the 16th, Thomson splashed out close and said "That won it for me, no doubt"; he won by one.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's The Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: the-open.json (The Open room's data), with GNN's Open Championship addendum tables L (top ten by round), H (deciding hole), W (final-day weather).